Toyama Gokayama | Experience an Overnight Stay in a Traditional Home
Gokayama is a village in Toyama prefecture famous for its unique housing and way of living. The village towns of Gokayama feature gassho zukuri housing, a style of construction using no nails. Instead the houses feature steep roofs that prevent snow build up and sturdy construction. The houses are also designed to face a certain direction to stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Two of Gokayama's well-visited villages are Ainokura and Suganuma villages. The gassho zukuri farmhouses of these towns were designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites. Ainokura Village is Gokayama's largest village, and most remote. Here you can experience staying at a gassho zukuri farmhouse overnight. As the most remote village, Ainokura was able to preserve many traditions that its neighboring villages have lost through the years. Folk dance and music is among the traditions that have been nicely preserved. A wooden instrument called sasara made from combining a hundred wooden clappers, is a popular souvenir among visitors of the village.